The Asian American International Film Festival 2016 begins today

The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) 2016 starts today in New York City.

The festival celebrates Asian and Asian American cinema and showcases the best films from this category. The 39th annual festival will take place between 21 July and 30 July 2016.

Produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), the festival is the nation’s longest running festival of its kind, dating back too 1978. AAIFF uses film and media as a tool for social progression and to encourage diversity in independent cinema.

The festival is annually held during the summer in New York City, bringing together Asian and American filmmakers and media artists that span across a diverse range of styles and genres.

The organisation is “dedicated to promoting and preserving Asian and Asian American media expressions.”

The founders saw the need to spread the awareness of the Asian American experience and history to the rest of the community as well as the greater public. They wanted to address problems faced by the Asian American communities, including representation, through the use of technologies and outlets available at the time. As these technologies grew, new possibilities for Asian Americans emerged, including roles behind and in front of the cameras.

The first Asian American Film festival was held in 1987, marking the first festival in the US to showcase the best in independent Asian and Asian American cinema. The three-day festival, that was held at the Henry Street Settlement on New York’s Lower East side, featured 46 films and videos. Later screening venues would include New York University (1979-1984), Rosemary Theatre (1985-1995), The French Institute (1996-2001), Asia Society (2002-2008), Chelsea Clearview Cinema, School of Visual Arts, Quad Cinema and Museum of Chinese in America (2009–present).

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Anson is a Central Saint Martin's fashion and textiles graduate. She is also an avid film buff whose exhaustive film knowledge is unparalleled - if you've seen it, chances are she's seen it too. Anson is originally from Hong Kong but has lived in the UK for four years and is hoping to stay for the foreseeable future.